In recent years, with the proliferation of sources of television programming including conventional terrestrially broadcast TV, cable TV, and satellite-delivered TV, numerous programming choices exist for a consumer. Consumers often desire to have a guide which shows the programming choices available at various times. The magazine, TV Guide, is one well-known example of a printed programming guide.
While TV Guide has enjoyed much success over the years, it has some drawbacks. First of all, with the large number of programming choices at any given time, it becomes increasingly difficult for a consumer to make a selection. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that a typical TV Guide is usually printed for a designated marketing area (DMA), which, in a very crude approximation, is generally an area of about a 100-mile radius from the location of the broadcast towers. Numerous independent municipalities are located within every DMA. This can result in a programming guide which contains programs which are not available to a particular customer. For example, since there are often several independent cable TV providers servicing the various communities in a DMA, with each cable TV company providing different services, any one viewer may need to sift through programming which is not accessible to them.
TV Guide Online is an example of a web-based programming guide which provides a user with a programming list which is individualized to the viewer based upon the viewer's zip code. This type of system works best when one and only one cable operator provides service to the entire zip code. Furthermore, TV Guide Online assumes that the signal strength of terrestrially broadcast stations is the same throughout the zip code. This is not correct.
Consequently, there exists a need for improved methods and systems for providing TV programming information to viewers in an efficient manner.